‘Ardern wore it so well’: cloak owner
The original owner of the cloak worn by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Buckingham Palace says she is ‘‘bathing in the aroha’’ of seeing it on the shoulders of an ‘‘exceptional’’ woman.
Ardern donned the traditional Ma¯ ori cloak, a kahu huruhuru, for a Commonwealth Heads of Government dinner in London last week after she met with Britain’s Queen.
The move has been lauded by Ma¯ ori leaders and the media.
The cloak was loaned to Ardern by Nga¯ ti Ra¯ nana, a London-based club which promotes Ma¯ori culture throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
In a Facebook post, Nga¯ ti Ra¯ nana said it was an ‘‘honour’’ to loan the garment to Ardern.
It was originally made for the wedding of a woman called Gretchen, who lived in Turangi. She later moved to Italy, and presented the garment to Nga¯ti Ra¯nana a few years later when she returned home to New Zealand.
‘‘I am but an instrument,’’ the club quoted Gretchen as saying.
‘‘I will bathe in the aroha for a minute, knowing the korowai has graced the shoulders of two exceptional ladies, in the presence of another incredibly lady.’’
Ardern said that she felt ‘‘privileged’’ to wear the cloak – a garment traditionally given or lent to elders and dignitaries to convey respect and mana.
Pictures of the prime minister wearing the garment have been picked up by international media, including The Guardian, The Irish Examiner, CNN, BBC, The Week and Harper’s Bazaar.
Mark Sykes, Te Papa’s guardian of Ma¯ori special collections, told The Guardian it was a kahu huruhuru, or feather cloak. These were worn for warmth and protection and to symbolise the wearer’s status.
‘‘I think it shows how [Ardern] is portraying herself as a leader of Ma¯ori, of all of New Zealand, of everyone.
‘‘It made me feel proud. She wore it well. She wore it so well.’’
Nga¯ ti Ra¯ nana honorary president Esther Jessop told CNN that the cloak was a ‘‘traditional, very special’’ garment. ‘‘We felt very honoured and delighted that the request came through.’’
Nga¯ i Tahu senior weaver Ranui Ngarimu said the images of Ardern were ‘‘a real acknowledgement of the prestige and power of a woman’’. Her choice to wear the cloak was a symbol of Ardern’s relationship with Ma¯ ori.